More little things.

I never quite got around to playing with the kitchen things yesterday.  Playing with little things takes time.  What I did do was work on flooring for the kitchen and the parlor.  Yes the Parlor.  When I was little, my maternal grandma referred to her livingroom as a parlor, so in my house, I shall have a parlor, not a livingroom. 

I have had a long debate about what to do for flooring.  You can create some truly lovely floors with popsicle sticks and a wash of colour to make the floors be what you want.  I didn't want to go that route, not right now.  I was looking for a quicker, less time consuming option.  I went with a floor that I found as a free printable on the internet. 

There were five different wood tones and I went with the darkest. I messed up the back a bit, by not properly lining up the board lines, but it won't really be noticed once the furniture is in place.  Otherwise I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out.  I did debate varnishing or shellacking it but I am not sure how the inkjet printing will survive. It is on a backing of sturdier card stock and I am going to hold that in place on the cabinet shelf with museum wax, particularly along the front edge.  Some day, the room will have a rug for the open floor areas too.

I did debate about using a pickled looking finish print for the kitchen, but I have a different look in mind for my kitchen.  I want a floor of blue and white tiles.

I got the floor tiles prepped by measuring and scoring the tile lines and then had difficulty getting the paint tubes out of the drawer.  I got some colours, but couldn't find the blue that I needed.  It took Keith's tall vantage to get everything out of the drawer.  Things were pretty jammed in there. At one time, I had planned to put my garden there, but the garden is going to go on the table surrounding the cabinet I am using for my house.  It will be right outside the kitchen door as it would be in any real house.  

The vegetable patch is large and is set away from the house a bit.  There will be a sign to direct you there.  After all, vegetable patches large enough to feed a family through a whole winter without having to buy any vegetables at all take up a fair bit of space, and a potato patch, even more.  Sustainability requires room and a lot of effort.  The garden at the door is going to be a place where you can sit and enjoy the scent of flowers and enjoy the warmth of a sunny morning.  I want it to be a kind of protected corner, where the wind doesn't creep in and you can have a whole cup of coffee in peace and tranquility.

Which brings me to the other adventures I had yesterday. I reacquainted myself with the little things that were collected and made so long ago.

The tiny rocker that was made by Anthony, Keith and Scott.  Mostly by Anthony, I think because he was the oldest and most observant of the boys.  The seat and rockers were carved from of paint stir sticks that you could get from building supply stores even if you weren't buying paint, and the legs were from round toothpicks.  They ever so carefully stained it (I never saw any messes so they must have been watching when Brian or I stained something) and then put it together.  It is fragile because the glue didn't hold on the stained ends.  I think I did some repairs with hot glue at some point so I could have it sitting with my other things when they were younger, but it came apart years ago.  I mean to put it together after sanding the glue points and giving it just a wee bit more stability this time.  It will have a place of pride in my kitchen right near the stove where there will be a sewing basket table near by, so the householder has a comfy spot to sit and do her hand work in.

These came back with me from Mexico, not our last trip there, but the second one.  We found this lovely little shop with baskets of little things at the back for those of us so inclined and jewellery at the front to tempt a more average consumer.  You know where I was in that shop. Of note, and completely forgotten by myself, was the food plates and the filled jars of veggies.  I have a head start on canned peas, beans and carrots.  They are the beginning of a well stocked larder.

I came across this bag of almost forgotten treasures.  I played a bit with making tiny food some years ago.  I have always remembered making the cauliflower, but had completely forgotten the cookies and the hamburgers.  I could have a picnic right now by the look of things. Some things have not held their colour over time.  The bananas are a funky brown, but then, just as in real life, maybe they are over ripe?  Easily painted.  There are some tiny strawberries and grapes and  apples with stems and teeny leaves.

There is also a bag with the taco makings.  I still have to make the tiny tortillas though chips are there (tiny pepper seeds).

There are a bunch of little things that need putting, though there are also extra pieces.  I have 4 rolling pins because that is how they came.  There are a bunch of tiny jars and containers that I bought to fill with veggies.  Somewhere in my kitchen, in a cool corner, there has to be a spot for the larder, where produce can be kept and the extra butter and cream and eggs can safely stay and where the crock for making sauerkraut can sit.  Yes, I know, I never used to eat it, but in my mind, my little house has always had a crock.  It wouldn't be right without it.  In real life, here on the prairies we had basements and basements had cold rooms of course, though in my house, the closest I will get to a basement is a faux trapdoor in the floor.

Today, I will concentrate on getting the floors done.  It might be a bit fussy.  The tiles are not faux tiles and need to be carefully cut and set on a backing paper before installation.  It needs careful work so that the floor looks just right and so everything stays straight.  Wish me precision.